Pile of Lies
by dreamgurl
Summary: I wasn't sure what to classify this as, so general. This is a dreamer fic (Max and Liz) but it has everyone in it, and there won't be much Max and Liz until the 4th or 5th chapter. This fic has to do with Max and Tess being together, Alex acting strange,
1. Lies

Pile of lies

Category- Max and Liz! (I'm such a Dreamer), but it won't get into the two of them together for a while. I'll try adding in Maria and Michael, too.

Summary- it's hard to explain, this chapter is mainly Liz thinking about Max, and Alex being slightly strange.

Disclaimer- don't own it, don't sue, don't have anything you want. 

Rating- I don't know, PG? PG-13? I'm not good at these things.

A/N- these chapters aren't very long cuz of the way I'm doing this (shorter chapters help me come up with more stuff). Max and Tess are together in the beginning- and for, like, the first…5 or 6 chapters (I'm planning ahead J) I just thought this fic up in my Science class, and decided to write it down (we're learning about Hybrids right now, so Science always inspires me) It's probably not that good, but oh well. Hope u enjoy! Oh, and please review- even if you think it's cr*p. I like communication : D****

# Liz shivered. It was so cold in her apartment, even with the heater turned on. She could faintly hear the commotion coming from downstairs, in the Crash Down, the restaurant her parents owned, which they lived above. All of her friends were down there, having a meeting. She wanted to go, but she knew Max and Tess were there. Together. There was no way she would be going if they were there. Tess would be cuddling with Max, and he would look lovingly into her eyes, then he would put his arm around her, and they would start kissing. All they while Maria would be making faces, and Liz would be controlling the urge to spew. It was just too much for her to bear. Every time she saw them together, she was reminded of how she and Max used to be. It should have been _her _sitting next to Max, not Tess. It would have been if she had told him the truth from the beginning, if she hadn't lied and broken his heart, betrayed his trust. If she had told him everything while they were dancing in Vegas, before it was too late. It had felt so good to be near him like that again. Why hadn't she told him then? Nothing was stopping her. She had just lost her nerve when Maria stopped singing. If she had told him, she would have been downstairs at this time, kissing and cuddling with Max. _Stop it, Liz, _she ordered herself, _Stop beating yourself up about this. You did the right thing. _Had she really? Everything could have still worked out if she had told Max right away. All he had to do was be nice to Tess. Liz had been using a lot of _if_s lately. If this, and if that…she needed to stop. _What's done is done, you can't change that. _Immediately after she thought that, she corrected herself. Of course it could be changed. Hadn't that been what Future Max did when he came to warn her? Liz sighed and leaned back against her pillows. Her life was such a soap opera, the kind with no ending. Next thing you know, Tess would fake being pregnant because Max decided he truly loved Pam Troy and Kyle would realize he was gay. At the thought, Liz made a disgusted face. _Yeah, right. Like that would ever happen. _"Lizzie! Get your butt down here!" Maria's voice broke through her thoughts. Her best friend was standing in the doorway expectantly, "Well, Liz? Are you coming or not?" Liz groaned, "Coming where?" 

"Downstairs, duh!" Maria said giddily, Liz stiffened a little, "Maria, you know I don't wanna go…Max and Tess…" she looked at the floor, not wanting to continue. "Max and Tess? Oh, please! That's exactly why I'm dragging you with me! You can't stay cooped up in your room all the time just because you don't want to see them together," she gestured around the room, "You need a life outside these walls. Besides, Max keeps inching away from her and she keeps trying to get closer to him. It's actually pretty pathetic," Maria cracked up and Liz started to giggle. "Please, Lizzie?" Liz was about to consent, when she was then interrupted by Alex, "Ladies! You two are keeping us waiting! We're hungry. We want food and we want it now!" he grinned at his friends good-naturedly. "Alright! Alright, we're coming!" Maria cried in mock exasperation. "Yeah, but don't think for a minute that we're cooking for any of you," Liz warned him. "That's what Michael's for," Maria added, grabbing Liz's hand and pulling her along.

Max looked up from his Cherry-coke and saw Alex, Maria, and Liz walking into the Crash Down from the back room. Liz was wearing a cute little baby-tee with very short shorts. Max had to physically stop himself from jumping up and kissing her. "So you finally decided to come out of hiding and join us, huh, Liz," Michael smirked at her. "Oh, shut up and leave her alone," Maria went over to Michael and playfully slapped him. He returned the slap with a quick kiss, and she sat on his lap. Isabel rolled her eyes at all the mushiness. They had been doing this all night; she just couldn't take anymore, "Guys, please stop. I'm begging you. You're starting to act just like Max and Li-" she broke her sentence off abruptly, realizing what she was saying. An extremely uncomfortable silence fell over the room. Maria stood up and slowly walked over to the counter, checking to see if it needed to be cleaned. Kyle twiddled his thumbs, beating himself at his own Thumb War game. Alex found that from the front view, his middle knuckle looked bigger, but from the back, his index knuckle did. Liz suddenly decided that her shoes were much more interesting to look at than anything else in the room. Tess's face was growing darker (and redder) by the second, with either embarrassment or fury. Max was staring intently at Liz, while trying to be very discreet about it. _Sorry brother, not working. _Isabel thought, smiling to herself, _maybe that's why Tess is all red. _"Anyway," Michael cleared his throat, "We were just discussing Nicholas," he informed Liz. She just nodded. "Yeah, we haven't seen him for a while and were wondering if he might be planning something," Isabel explained, bringing everyone back into focus. "Right," max looked around the room, "I want all of you to be very careful," his eyes lingered on Liz for a few extra seconds, "you never know where he might be. And also, be on the look out for Khivar, he could be anyone," he turned to Kyle. Kyle panicked, _What did I do? I didn't do anything! Oh, wait…he can't still be mad about that. That was forever ago! _He tried to laugh it off, "In fact, he could be any one of us right now! Like, for example, Alex. Is that you buddy?" Alex winked then gave Kyle a solemn expression, "No, I'm Khivar. I possessed Alex right before he went to Sweden," he said in a voice much deeper than his own. Everyone laughed. "That's a really good impression of an evil alien, Alex. How'd you make your voice go that low?" Tess inquired. "I'm serious. I really am Khivar," his face was set in an evil, stony glare, "Doesn't it sound like me, Vilandra?" he directed his gaze towards Isabel, "Or do you not even remember your old lover anymore?" Isabel let out a surprised gasp. Max, Michael, and Tess stared at him in utter shock. Maria took Liz's hand and they both took a few cautious steps back, while Kyle breathed in slowly, muttering Buddhist chants to himself. Then, out of nowhere, Alex fell into a fit of hysterical laughter. 


	2. Please, no

Pile of lies

Category- Max and Liz (not yet, though) and some Max/Tess *making face* :P

Summary- Max and Tess go out on a 'date', Isabel and Maria sleep over at Liz's

Disclaimer- don't own it, don't sue, don't have anything you want

Rating- PG, PG-13

A/N- it's not very long. Please review even if you think it sucks. J :D

"Ha! I got you guys! You were actually scared! I don't believe it," Alex cried, gasping for breath after all his laughing. Kyle breathed a deep sigh of relief, "Man, I thought you were serious! You're good at that." Maria giggled nervously, "I thought you were serious, too! Pretty stupid, huh?" Alex shook his head, "Of course not! It's just that I'm a great actor." Liz smiled faintly at him, "You are, really, Alex. I thought you were being real. You know, like really possessed." 

"It sure seemed like it," Tess added, peering suspiciously at Alex. He looked back, incredulous, "I was kidding. It was a joke. A J-O-K-E." Max took Tess's hand and stood up. Liz cringed inwardly at the sight, feeling sick to her stomach. "Well, don't joke like that anymore. It's not funny," Max told Alex severely. "Sheesh," Alex muttered under his breath to Maria, who nodded. "I'm leaving now, see you guys tomorrow," Max said to everyone. Tess nudged him lightly, "Max, could you give me a ride?" she flashed him a sickeningly bright smile. Liz now really needed to throw up. _Why can't she go with Kyle? They live together after all. Max wouldn't give her a ride; he'd take her to… _"Oh…yeah, sure," Max agreed a little reluctantly, he and Tess started to walk out the door. Tess placed her head snugly on Max's shoulder. He tensed visibly, but didn't jerk away. Maria made silent gagging motions and Michael, Isabel, and Alex laughed appreciatively. (Kyle didn't seem to think it was funny, and Liz didn't even notice.) "Um…hello? What about me, Max?" Isabel called out after the retreating couple, "You know, your poor sister, with no car? Who might possibly need a ride as well?" Tess waved her hand dismissively, "Can't you just stay with Liz or something?" Max didn't even bother answering his sister. Isabel clenched her fist as she watched Max and Tess leave. "I can't stand that girl!" Michael exclaimed once she and Max were out of hearing distance. Liz, Maria, and Isabel murmured their agreements. "You know what I can't stand?"" Alex asked unexpectedly. All eyes were on him, he continued, "I can't stand Max's high-and-mighty attitude. He thinks he's so great and he's always right since he's the supposed 'King', he thinks he's always right. Yeah, sure. Whatever. Maybe your planet's better off with Khivar ruling it." Michael and Kyle started to cough loudly while the girls stood gaping at him. "Alex? I've never heard you…um, express yourself about Max like that," Liz eyed him worriedly. Alex snorted, "Yeah, well, it's what I think. I don't understand how you guys always follow his every command. It's kind of sad, really," with that, he left the Crash Down. 

"OK. That wasn't Alex," Kyle announced to the remaining people in the room. "You're right. Alex would never say something like…what he just said!" Maria agreed readily. "I think there's something really wrong," Isabel sighed. "Maybe he accidentally took some bitch-pills this morning," Michael remarked. "Well, I gotta go. Dad's waiting for me. I'll probably make it home before Tess does," Kyle grabbed his jacket and headed for the door, "Wanna ride, Michael?" 

"Sure," Michael left with him. Isabel threw her hands up in despair, "Sure! Take _Michael_ why don't you!"

"I don't understand why you didn't want Isabel to come with us. All I'm going to do is take you home," Max told Tess right when they got into the Jeep. "Actually…I was thinking we could go somewhere…" Tess drawled out suggestively. "Oh, really? Like where?" Max asked apprehensively, he didn't like where this was headed. "Oh, I don't know…we could…go to the UFOnics and dance?" she ended her statement with a question mark, like she was leaving him a choice. "Tess, by this time, UFOnics is pretty much a bar. Everyone's drinking beer," Max tried reasoning with her, "Why would you want to go there?" 

"So? We could go have a drink. What's wrong with that? You really do need to lighten up a bit," Tess argued. "Drinking has a strange effect on us, we wouldn't be able to get drunk without attracting attention," _Why won't she just leave it alone? _Max thought irritably. "Max, come on. It'll be fun. I won't get drunk, so I'll stop you from doing anything," 

"Oh, that's nice," Max said sarcastically, "I get drunk and you don't. How fun." Tess shot him a hurt/pleading look and Max felt like slapping her, but the thought-_ why not? It not like anything could happen…_ "Okay, fine Tess. We'll go, but we won't be there long," he finally consented. "Don't worry, Max. We won't be there long at all," Tess gave him a kiss, and Max knew she was expecting it to be returned. He braced himself and tried unsuccessfully to push away thoughts of how much he'd rather be kissing Liz. At least Tess could provide some sort of distraction. 

"How could they not give me a ride?" Isabel whined to Maria and Liz as she paced the floor of the Crash Down. "I don't know,' Liz answered distractedly, her mind was focusing on thoughts of Max and Tess. Where were they now? Liz knew it was obvious he didn't take her home. What could they possibly be doing right now? She didn't allow herself time to think of the possibilities. And, of all people, did he have to be with _Tess_? "Isn't that right, Liz?" Maria asked her. She suddenly realized Maria and Isabel were in the middle of a conversation, which included her. "Liz?" her friend repeated curiously, "Am I right or not?" 

"Oh, um…yeah, of course," she tried to look like she had the slightest idea of what they were talking about. "Definitely!" Isabel laughed, "By now, my brother and Tess are probably at Buckley Point, arms wrapped around each other, making-" she stopped herself when she felt Maria's foot in the back of her leg. "Ow!" she cringed. "oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to kick you," Maria apologized innocently. Isabel didn't understand why Maria purposely kicked her, then apologized saying it was an accident. Liz was inspecting her nails with a unique fascination. "Oh, Liz! I'm sorry! Excuse me while I take my foot out of my mouth," Isabel covered her mouth in embarrassment. Here she was, trying to make friends with Liz and Maria, and she had to blow it by bringing up Max and Tess. "It's okay, don't worry about it," Liz smiled wanly at her. 

"No, I should have realized you still-" she earned a deadly warning look from Maria, "I mean, I should have realized that you two wouldn't care to hear about Max and Tess. Who would anyway?" she corrected herself. Liz and Maria both laughed. "Would it be OK if I stayed over, Liz? I mean, I have no way of getting home, since my wonderful brother can't take time out of his precious…" Isabel let her sentence trail off, just so she wouldn't accidentally say anything involving Tess. "Of course you can, Isabel!" Liz clapped her hands together, "Maria's staying, too. It'll be fun!" Maria's eyes lit up, "We can do some major Hybrid/Human bonding…that doesn't involve kissing of any sort," Isabel scrunched her nose up, "Ewww. I think could have done perfectly well without that comment, thank you," 

"What? You don't want to kiss me?" Maria's voice rose in fake shock. "I don't think either of us want to kiss you, Maria," Liz answered her kindly. "I'm so terribly hurt…" Maria whispered, trying not to laugh. "OK. Let's stop," Isabel proceeded to take some things out of the refrigerator. "What are you going to do?" Liz questioned. "First, I'm going to make a special Hybrid concoction for all of us to drink!" Isabel informed them as a matter-of-factly. Liz licked her lips, "Yum!"

"Actually, I don't like the sound of that…" Maria made a face. Isabel smiled, "Don't worry. It's just a strawberry shake made without milk. Tastes real good, too."

"Oh." 

Max woke up, finding himself in his bed with a terrible head and stomachache. _What the hell…? _He had no recollection of what had happened to him. One second he was at UFOnics and Tess was handing him a drink, and the next…_Hey, where's Tess? _He checked his watch- 1:12 am. How did time fly by so quickly? He looked over to his side and saw Tess sleeping. In his bed. With him. (I'm gagging as I write this) _Oh, my God. No. _He had gotten drunk at UFOnics and somehow ended up in bed with Tess. He was just praying nothing terrible had happened. Maybe she had just fallen asleep. Tess stirred, "Max?" she whispered sleepily. "Uh, I'm here," Max decided if he concentrated hard enough, Tess would magically turn into Liz. He imitated Kyle and took long, strenuous, deop breaths. _Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale..._ He visualized Liz's face in his mind, visualized talking with her, laughing with her, kissing her…then he slowly opened his eyes and…_Damn. _It didn't work. _I knew Kyle's Buddhist stuff was a load of crap. _"Um, Tess?" he asked tentatively, "Why are we here?" _Please don't say we… _"You don't remember, Max?" Tess replied sweetly. "No," Max held his breath. _Please don't let me be what I think it is! _"We made love, Max,"


	3. Sleepover

Pile of lies

Category- Max and Liz (well, not yet) and Max/Tess (sort of)

Summary- Liz, Maria, and Isabel are having a sleepover. This chapter's also got a bit of the Max/Tess sleeping thing from the last chapter.

Disclaimer- don't own it, don't sue, don't have anything you want

Rating- PG, PG-13…

A/N- I DO NOT hate Tess. I swear, I don't. I think she's pretty cool. She's just being kind of weird (like Alex), it's part of the story.

"We made love," Tess repeated, laughing silently at Max's horrified expression. At that moment, Max couldn't stand to look at her, so he turned away. _We didn't! We couldn't have! I don't love you! You're lying! _He desperately wanted to scream. He felt trapped, tricked. How could Tess have done that? Of course, it was his own fault as well, for letting Tess talk him into going. "Why don't I remember anything about it?" he challenged her. "Well, obviously, because you were drunk," she had a disgusting gleeful look on her face. "So that's the reason why you got me drunk, isn't it?" Max yelled at her. "Max, calm down. Of course not," she was taken aback by his accusation. "Yes, you planned it, didn't you? Didn't you?" he practically roared. Tess covered her ears, "Max. I swear I didn't plan any-"

"The hell you didn't!" his voice kept getting higher and higher. "But Max-"

"Will you get out?!"

"Max," Tess looked up at him, "will you please understand?" but Max glared at her with steely eyes, "I don't want to. Just get out. Now," he said through clenched teeth. Her eyes glassed over, as if she were about to cry, but Max didn't care. He wanted her to leave. "Fine, I'll go," and she did.

"Alright, it's already past 1 in the morning, and all we've done is make shakes, paint nails, and watch a version of _Romeo & Juliet_, which in my opinion, is one of the sappiest love stories ever, with Leonerdo DeCrapio in it. Can you believe that?!" Isabel exclaimed incredulously to her friends as she popped the tape out of the VCR, "I wish I could, like, stretch out time or something. It's too bad that's one power I don't have. That would be so cool!" she didn't receive an answer after all that rambling. "Guys?" she asked. No answer. She heard a faint sobbing noise behind her, turning around; she saw Liz and Maria were crying their eyes out. "Oh, please! Are you really _that _sensitive?"

"I can't help it…it's so sad!" Maria answered through her tears. "It kind of relates to my life in a way," Liz added, sniffling, "Except my life isn't as dramatic." Maria smiled at her, "Sure it's not, Lizzie! You never have to go through world-ending dilemmas." Liz started choking on an imaginary piece of bread and gave Maria a death-look. Isabel raised her eyebrows, "What was that supposed to mean?" 

"Uh…nothing!" Maria said a little too quickly. _Why is it that I never have a good cover-up at times like these? _"Nothing? I see…" Isabel smirked, unconvinced. "Just that-um, that we're always in life and death situations, like with the Skins, that could eventually end in a world-ending…situation," Liz supplied. _Yeah, that was great Liz. Didn't even make sense. _She thought to herself. "Oh," Isabel nodded understandingly, but she wasn't quite sure she believed them. "So, anyway," Maria perked up, changing the subject, "it's the 'What Would You change from This Movie' time! You first, Isabel. What would you have done differently if you were Juliet?" Isabel thought for a minute, "Well…first of all, Leonerdo DeCrapio would _so _not have been my Romeo. And I guess I would have run away with Romeo in the first place,"

"That's a good idea!" Liz agreed, "I wonder why the couple didn't think of that. All right, you, Maria?" Maria stroked her invisible beard, "Hmm…okay! I got it! When I saw that Romeo was dead, I would have done CPR on him, and if that didn't work, I would have dried a little. Then I would have gone on with my life," she smiled triumphantly, completely self-satisfied with her answer. Liz rolled her eyes, and so did Isabel. "Maria, that's just a little heartless, don't you think?" Liz asked her best friend. "Hey! It works!" Maria defended herself. How about you, Liz?" Isabel inquired. Liz sighed inaudibly, and her answer was almost immediate, though it seemed as if she would have thought it through for a long time, "I would have told him we couldn't be together." Isabel gave her a confused look, "Why would you do that?" 

"So nothing would happen to him," Liz replied, a strange look coming over her face. Maria nodded sympathetically. "What if he still didn't give up on you?" Isabel pressed on, not sure why she wanted to know. "Then I would lie to him and tell him I didn't love him enough to risk my family dishonoring me, I would pretend I wanted to be with someone else if I had to. If he loved me enough- he would leave me alone," Liz answered her firmly, but her eyes were cloudy. Isabel felt something in her brain _almost_ click. As if she had just _almost_ pieced together the world's largest jigsaw puzzle, but was missing the very last piece, "But that's lying! Why wouldn't you tell him the truth- that if you were together, he might die?" Liz didn't say anything. Isabel stared at her, waiting for someone to say something. Maria, who up to this point had been singing "Come on Over", became eerily quiet. Liz closed her eyes briefly, "He would never understand," _How would you know? _Isabel thought. Liz had made it sound as if she were trying to convince herself of that. "I'm getting a drink," Liz declared, getting up from her spot on the floor, "Anyone want anything?" Maria asked for a Sprite, and Isabel asked for a Cherry Coke. As she drank it, she concentrated mainly on the _way _Liz was saying the words; she had never once said 'Romeo'. This time, Isabel's brain actually clicked. She had a sneaking suspicion Liz had been referring to Max. 

Max slumped down in his desk chair, lost in thought. He hated himself for letting Tess get him drunk; he knew she had been planning it. He hated Tess for _getting _him drunk; he knew she was using his state as her excuse. He hated Isabel for not persisting in getting a ride, because then Tess wouldn't have been able to suggest anything. He hated his parents for not being home, because if they had, they could have stopped anything from happening. He hated Alex for making that stupid joke that made him want to leave, and Tess come with him. He hated Michael for letting him go with Tess, he should have stopped him. He hated Maria for not telling him whatever it was she and Liz were hiding from him, because he knew there was something. He hated Kyle for going along with Liz in pretending they had slept together, because he knew they hadn't. But Max had slept with Tess. He had. He cringed when he remembered Tess's words, _we made love. _Impossible. He refused to call it 'making love'. You couldn't _make _love to someone unless you were _in _love with them. And he was definitely not in love with Tess. He was in love with Liz. Max covered his face with his hands and started to cry.

Liz sat on the balcony, looking up at the stars. Isabel and Maria were already asleep. At least, Maria was asleep. Isabel was probably dream walking someone. "I wonder what he's doing right now," Liz mused out loud. She wished that, right now, Max was there with her. It was obviously not going to happen, but she fell into a little dream. Max was next to her on the balcony, holding her in his arms. Her head was buried in his shoulder, and he was stroking her hair. She looked up at him and smiled, he leaned down and gently kissed her, whispering, _I love you, Liz…_ She sighed. This was hopeless. "If only I had told him the truth about Kyle, then everything…" she heard footsteps behind her, and turned around. Isabel was standing in front of her, arms crossed, "What truth about Kyle?"


	4. A Truth Comes Out

Pile of lies

Category- Max and Liz (well, not yet) and Max/Tess (sort of)

Summary- Liz tells Isabel the truth about EotW. Max tells Michael about Tess. Kyle gets mad at Tess.

Disclaimer- don't own it, don't sue, don't have anything you want

Rating- PG, PG-13…

A/N- I DO NOT hate Tess. I swear, I don't. I think she's pretty cool. She's just being kind of weird (like Alex), it's part of the story. Oh, yeah. And sorry about the pink font color *sheepish grin* I forgot to change it before I submitted the chapter. (That's how my computer's automatically set) Please review :D Thanks for the feedback!

"Answer me," Isabel commanded. Liz searched through her brain for a plausible response. Nothing came up. "Um, you see, Isabel, I-"

"Don't lie to me, Liz. I want the whole truth," Isabel's eyes flashed angrily, "What have you been hiding from all of us?" Liz gave a resigned sigh, "All right. I didn't ever sleep with Kyle. I just set it up to _look_ like I did," she waited for Isabel to comment on the before continuing. Isabel's face took on an amused expression, "I already knew that, thank you. Now I want to know why."

"How did you even know about the Kyle thing?" Liz asked, avoiding having to answer Isabel's question. "Liz, you know that when I get bored, I dream walk people. I just happened to stumble into a dream of yours in which you were telling Max you didn't sleep with Kyle. I didn't think anything of it at the time," Isabel explained, smiling knowingly. "Oh. Dream walking is an invasion of people's privacy you know," Liz told her. "I know it is," Isabel started to walk away and Liz breathed a sigh of relief. _Thank God I didn't have to answer. _Isabel turned around, "You still have to tell me why."

Alex locked himself in his room, and sat down in his desk, looking over the small, brown book. He turned the pages one by one, carefully copying all the strange symbols on to his own piece of paper. He had absolutely no idea why in the heck he was doing this; it was almost like an impulse. His brows creased furiously as he stared at the signs, writing letters in English underneath each one. _How the hell can I translate these?! I don't even have the slightest clue what they mean! _He wondered in awe as he started forming sentences with them. Confused, he looked from the signs, to the pictures, to the signs, to the pictures again. His eyes narrowed as he shook his head in bewilderment. _This doesn't make sense. The words don't go with the pictures. _He started to rub his temples. His fingers traced over the signs and, struck with an idea, he quickly flipped to the back of the book. Just as he thought, there was a picture of Zan and Ava, with Ava pregnant. He translated the words, and an evil grin spread across his face. He got up, opened his closet door, and placed a plate of food in it. "I'll be rid of the heir sooner than you think," he laughed.

Michael stood in front of Max's door, not knowing exactly why he was there. He had felt some sort of strange impulse to talk to Max last night, but had avoided it until now. He decided it would be safer to go in through Max's window. No chance of having to see the parents then. Michael climbed up the window and looked in. Max was sitting in a chair, not moving. He had a blank stare on his face. Michael knocked on the glass a few times, expecting Max to get up and open the window, or complain about Michael's being there. But he didn't. He just sat there, unblinking, not even registering Michael's presence. Michael decided to open the window himself. "Hey, Max! I'm here!" he said once he got in. Max didn't say anything back. _Okay, this is giving me the creeps, _Michael shivered. "Maxwell, what's wrong?" he hit Max on the back. Max's head snapped around, "Michael, what are you doing here?" he asked almost accusingly. "I thought you might need some company. Why didn't you see me? You were just sitting in your chair like a statue,"

"Why would I need company? Did Tess tell everyone what happened?!" Max's eyes widened considerably. "No, she didn't. Something happened? What happened? Tell me," Michael eyed his friend. "I don't want to talk about it," Max said weakly, flopping down on his bed. Then, as if on second thought, he got off the bed with a shudder, and went back to his chair. "Well, you're going to have to- so start talking!" Michael ordered gruffly. "I don't even know how it happened, Michael. I mean, Tess wanted to go to UFOnics before I dropped her off…" and so Max continued telling Michael the whole story of what happened, including his suspicions of Tess pulling some sort of trick. "Wow, man. You've sure got some bad luck," was all Michael said when Max was finished. "What that's it? You're not even going to give me advice?" Max looked over at his best friend helplessly, with a you've-gotta-help-me-man look. "Do you really think Tess could have faked it? I don't think she's that bad a person," Michael questioned. "I don't know. It's not like we'll ever find out the truth," Max heaved a sigh. "Not unless she gets pregnant," Michael offered helpfully. "Don't even _think _that!"

Isabel's mouth was hanging open and refused to close by the time Liz finished talking. She couldn't believe Liz had gone through all that these past few months. "Liz, I don't know what to say. I…I have a whole new respect for you. And how much you love my brother. If I was you, I probably would have been like, 'screw the world!'" Isabel laughed shakily and Liz smiled, "No, you wouldn't have. You would have done the same thing I did, but probably using a different method." "Actually, you're probably right," Isabel agreed. Liz's eyes darted around the balcony worriedly, "You won't tell Max, will you?" Isabel bit her lip, "Well, Liz, you know that I-"

"I mean, it's not like it's going to change anything," Liz interrupted hastily, "After all, Max is with Tess now and I'm sure he likes it that way." Isabel started laughing out loud and Liz gave her a weird look. _Liz, honey, if you only knew. _"Anyway, I just- I don't want him to know," Liz finished, knowing that Isabel would still tell Max no matter what. After all, they were brother and sister. "I think he deserves to know. I really do," Isabel told her sincerely. Liz shrugged and then looked in through the door and saw Maria getting up, "Maria's awake! Come on,"

"Hey guys! Good morning. Why didn't you wake me up?" Maria greeted them sleepily when they came in. "Sorry. We were having an intense conversation strictly for cool people only," Isabel apologized teasingly. "Thanks a lot!" Maria grumped, but then she brightened, "You told her, didn't you?" she asked Liz. "Sure did," Liz answered. The three girls were silent for a few minutes before Maria decided to break the silence, "Okay. I'm gonna make everyone breakfast!"

Kyle stormed into Tess's (well actually, his) bedroom, ripping off the covers from the bed and shaking her awake. "Ow!" Tess groaned, "What's your problem?" Kyle glared at her, "Where the hell where you last night?!" he yelled angrily. "What's it to you?" she shot back at him. Kyle thought he detected the slightest hint of a New York accent, but ignored it. "Dad and I were worried out of our damn minds! I went to bed at 1:30 and you _still _weren't home!" Tess didn't answer. "Where the hell were you last night?" he asked again, lowering his voice quite a bit so he wouldn't upset his dad. Tess looked away, "Why should you care where I was or what I was doing?" 

"Because I- we care about you," he said quietly. Tess laughed harshly, "No, you don't," she stated clearly, as though she had no doubt. "Exactly how would you know that?" Kyle countered. "I just know. You- none of you- care about _me._" Then she ran out of the room.


	5. Bastard

Pile of lies

Category- Max and Liz (well, not yet) and Max/Tess (sort of)

Summary- Isabel tells Max what Liz told her. Maria tells Liz about Max and Tess. I finally have something that could be considered a Max and Liz scene! Yay!

Disclaimer- don't own it, don't sue, don't have anything you want

Rating- PG, PG-13…

A/N- Sometimes people might seem a bit out of character. That's just cuz I sometimes have a different picture of them in my mind (or how I'd like them to be once in a while) Sorry if you don't like it. Oh, yeah. Please review :D Thanks for the feedback! 

"Tess, wait!" Kyle called after her, following her to the living room. She was sitting on the couch, crying softly. "Tess, what's wrong?" he tentatively put his arms around her. "Nothing's wrong," she kept her eyes closed for a while in an attempt to stave off any further tears. "Come on, tell me. Where were you?" 

"With Max," came the whispered reply. "And you…?" she nodded. "I'll kill that bastard!" Kyle narrowed his eyes menacingly. "No, it's okay, Kyle. Really," Tess smiled wanly, "I'm just gonna go for a walk." She hugged him then left through the front door. When she got out, she headed straight for Alex's house, grinning widely, _That performance was worthy of an Academy Award._

_ _

Isabel unlocked the door to her house, trying hard to make a lot of noise. She liked for her whole family to know when she was home. "Hey everyone! I'm back!" she called happily, expecting to be greeted with warmth and love. She wasn't. "Could you be _any _quieter?" Max said irritably, coming down the stairs on his way to the fridge. "What's wrong with you? Where are Mom and Dad?" Isabel looked around the room. "It just so happens our dear, beloved family picked this weekend, of all the weekends, to go out of town. I found a note this morning," He explained in a sarcastic voice. "OK. What gives? What's with the attitude?"

"You really want to know?" he questioned. "Well, as a matter of fact, I do," Isabel replied. Max motioned for his sister to sit on the couch, "I'll tell you, then," he paused uncomfortably for a minute, "Uh, see, last night, I sort of got drunk. Then Tess and I sort of- well, Tess got me drunk…and then we-"

"Oh, my God! No! You…you didn't! You couldn't have! Tell me you didn't," Isabel's hand automatically flew to her mouth in horror. "I did," Max answered dejectedly, "At least, I_ think_ I did…" Isabel gave him a look, "You THINK you did?! What do you mean you THINK you did?!" she practically yelled. " I was drunk, Iz. All I know is, I woke up and Tess was in bed with me," Max winced as he remembered it. Isabel was aghast, "Oh, man! This is really bad. I had something really good to tell you, too." she shrugged, biting her lip, "I thought that after I told you, we could just fix a few things and everyone would live happily ever after!" she sighed a little sadly, _Great. Now I sound like Maria! _

__"What was it?" Max asked eagerly, he figured he could use any bit of good news that came his way. "It won't matter now," Isabel told him pointedly. "I'd like to know what this thing is anyway," Max crossed his arms over his chest. "I guess you have a right to know. Well, you _had _a right to know, cuz now that you've…with Tess, it just completely obliterates-" Max groaned loudly and Isabel threw him a saccharine smile, "Fine. This is going to be a little hard to say. It has to do with Liz. See, Max, back in October, Liz, Maria, and Alex all went to go see a psychic and she told Liz-" as if on cue, the phone rang. "I'll get it!" Max announced, picking it up immediately, "Oh, hi, Liz." Isabel cursed the Irony Gods.

Liz hung up the phone after she and Max finished talking. It was strange; she had felt some sort of weird vibes from him. As if he were feeling guilty about something. _That's stupid, _she told herself, _what would he be feeling guilty about? _She looked up and saw Maria looming over the doorway. (Again) "So, what did you and Max talk about?" Maria asked, a sardonic smile crossing her face in a way that was impossible to interpret. "Why does it matter?" 

"What did he say to you?" Maria waved a hand through her long hair. "Oh, we didn't talk about anything in particular," Liz answered, still not sure why Maria wanted to know. "So I suppose he didn't mention what he did last night?" she question, her voice rising, on the edge of maniacal anger. "No…he didn't say anything about that…Maria, what's going on? What happened?" Liz was alarmed. "Nothing important," Maria spat out, "Just that, he happened to have slept with Tess." Liz flinched, "He…he did?" a tear started trickling down her cheek. She tried to wipe it away before Maria saw it, but it was already too late. "Liz, are you okay?" 

"I'm fine," Liz replied, forcing a smile on her face, "I don't see why it's any of my business what Max and Tess do." 

"Don't lie to me, babe. I'm your best friend, remember?" Maria reprimanded her lightly. "Oh, Maria!" Maria sat down next to Liz and hugged her tightly, "I'm sorry." Liz shook her head, "No, I should be over him by now. There no point in…it's just- why didn't he tell me?" she broke into a sob as tears started flowing freely down her cheeks.

MONDAY (the next day)~

Max walked through the halls at school Monday morning. He was searching for Liz. Michael told him he had told Maria about what happened with Tess. If Maria knew, then she would definitely tell Liz right away. Max only hoped Maria hadn't told her yet. He wanted to be the one to tell her, especially after what Isabel had confided in him last night. He was completely astounded by everything Liz had done for him, for all of them. She had been so completely unselfish and given him up for their sake, and this is how he repaid her. _You are a horrible, horrible person, Maxwell. _The little voice in the back of his head (which strangely sounded like Michael) laughed. Max couldn't believe he had been stupid enough to let Tess get him drunk. If he hadn't, he could just run straight to Liz, tell her he loved her, and then they could work everything out together. He rounded a corner and spotted Liz near her locker. _God, she looks beautiful, _he thought, licking his lips. He mentally kicked himself. "Uh, Liz!" he ran over to her, "Hi!" 

"Oh…hi, Max," Liz adverted her eyes and became extremely interested in cracking her locker combination. Max was struck with a sudden, horrifying thought. _She already knows, _"Listen, Liz, I…I don't know how to say this…Isabel told me what…she told me about Future Max and everything…" He didn't know what he could possibly say. 'Thank you'? That wouldn't be enough. In this instance, after what happened with Tess, 'I love you' would seem obsolete. "And? Do you have anything else to say? If you don't, that's fine, because I really need to get to class," Liz checked her watch impatiently. She so did not want to deal with this. "I just wanted to say that…I can't believe you did that for us and…I guess, thank you, and I wanted you to know that no-" Liz laughed derisively, "You're welcome, Max. Oh, and I heard about you and Tess," she breathed in deeply, trying to fight back any tears that dared come out of her eyes, "Good luck with that." She turned to leave, but Max grabbed her, "You don't even know what happened, Liz," he argued. "Does it matter? You got drunk, you two made love, big deal. I don't care to hear the details, Max."

"She tricked me. She got me drunk! I need you to he-"

"Why are you telling me this?" Liz interrupted, annoyed. "I just want you to…" Max let his sentence trail off as Liz walked away. He watched her retreating back, desperate. _I can't let her walk away from me again! _He followed her, "Liz, please wait!" Sighing, Liz turned around, "What do you want, Max?" _You, _Max thought as he stared at her for a few seconds, then, not being able to control himself, he grabbed her and started kissing her passionately. Liz was so surprised; she dropped her books and started to respond to his kiss, but stopped herself in time. _He's with Tess, remember? _She pushed him away, "Why did you do that?" she asked softly, wiping her mouth. He looked down at the ground, "I couldn't help it, I…" Liz looked at him, and then did something she had never done before. She slapped him. Hard. "Bastard!" she hissed. With that, she picked up her books, whipped around, and stormed off.


	6. Friends

Pile of lies

Category- Max and Liz (well, not yet) and Max/Tess (sort of)

Summary- Maria and Liz chat. Michael and Max chat. Tess starts craving salt. I have another thing that could be considered a Max and Liz scene. Alex is weird again. Tess tells Max something important.

Disclaimer- don't own it, don't sue, don't have anything you want

Rating- PG, PG-13…

A/N- Sometimes people might seem a bit out of character. That's just cuz I sometimes have a different picture of them in my mind (or how I'd like them to be once in a while) Sorry if you don't like it. Oh, yeah. Please review :D Thanks for the feedback!

"Oh, my God! What an ass-hole! He really did that?" Maria exclaimed to Liz as they walked to the Crashdown after school. "Mm-hm. He just kissed me, just like that. The thing is…I wanted him to. When he was kissing me, I didn't want him to stop," Liz closed her eyes, replaying Max's kiss over and over again in her mind. "Of course you didn't, babe! That's just natural. After all, you're in love with the guy. But you have to fight it, Liz. He's with Tess," Maria turned slightly green, disgusted by the image of Max and Tess together. "That's what I told myself. I pushed him away. You would have been so proud of me! Guess what I did?"

"What?" Maria asked excitedly, leaning in. "I slapped him and called him a bastard!" Liz grinned happily. "Oh, you go girlfriend! He deserved it, too." They both high-fived.

Michael smirked while max fumbled around, looking for his keys, trying to unlock the door. "So you just kissed her? Out of nowhere?" Michael asked for the third time. "Yes, We've gone over that already. Yes, I did kiss Liz. But no, it wasn't really out of nowhere-"

"What the hell's wrong with you, man?" Michael fumed angrily, also for the third time. "We've gone through this, Michael. Three times. Can't you give it a rest?" Max reminded him exasperatedly, "Besides, what's the big deal? I kissed Liz. So what?" Michael gave him a glaring look, "Maybe it's that…hmm…this could be considered…oh, I don't know, _cheating on Tess_?" 

"You _would _bring that up, wouldn't you?"

Tess went into the Crashdown and immediately saw Isabel sitting at a table all be herself. _This is perfect! _She thought, as she casually walked over. "Hi, Isabel!" she exclaimed cheerfully. "Hi…Tess," Isabel replied just a little hesitantly. _What's wrong with her? _Tess wondered. "I…um, Max told me what happened Saturday," Isabel shifted uncomfortably. "And you don't approve?" Tess raised an eyebrow. "Well, it's not that…it's…I just…" Isabel tried to think of what to say. She wasn't really good at confronting Tess, "It's just that…Tess, he was _drunk_!" she finished lamely. "I know he was," Tess smiled smugly. "Tell me how it happened," Isabel requested, leaning forward to grab some Tabasco. "Tell you how what happened?" Tess grabbed a saltshaker instead of Tabasco sauce and poured the whole container all over her food. "Well, tell me what happened Saturday night. He was going to take you home, then…" Isabel stopped when she noticed the salt, "Ewww! What are you doing?" She looked appalled at the sight of Tess eating all of that salt along with her salad. "Oh…I've just got a sudden craving for salt," Tess told her with a mouthful of lettuce. (And salt) "That's…that's nauseating," Isabel nodded briefly. "Yeah, it's really weird. Nasedo once told me something important about salt craving, but I can't quite remember what it was…"

TUESDAY (morning)~

Kyle had just finished fixing up a meal for his dad and Tess before they woke up, when Tess came into the kitchen. "My favorite Martian! I made you some breakfast- extra Tabasco," He brought the plate out and placed it on the table. "I don't care for the Tabasco," Tess replied crisply, "I want salt."

"Ooookaaaayy…I'll just get some out, then…" he went back into the kitchen muttering about Hybrids and their 'freaky ways'. "Why do you want salt? There's already some in there," Kyle inquired in a bemused way. "Well, there's not enough. I really want some more," she answered nonchalantly. "OK. Here you go," Kyle handed her a container of salt, (one of the really big ones) "Just don't use too much. Too much is bad for you." 

"Thanks," Tess promptly opened the lid and poured the container on top of her eggs. Kyle gulped, "Um…I'm sure that's going to be a heck of a delicious meal." 

"Mm-hm…got any more salt?" she looked up from her plate. "Uh, yeah. I think so…"

Liz and Maria walked into the West Roswell High school building exactly on time. "I wonder why Alex isn't here yet," Liz said to Maria as she battled with her locker combo. "He could just be late, you know," Maria shrugged, putting her hair up in a loose bun. "Alex is never late," Liz argued, "He's always there early, like us," Liz argued. "That's true," Maria agreed. Her bun fell out and she tried putting it back up several times, but was unsuccessful, "I give up! This stupid bun just doesn't want to stay!" she cried angrily. "Maria! I'm worried about Alex. I think it's quite possible that that might be just a little bit more important that getting your hair in a bun. It looks better down, anyway," Liz grabbed her books, slammed her locker shut, and then followed Maria down the hall. "Don't worry. I'm sure Alex is fine. He's probably just got a cold or something. What you _should _be worried about is sitting next to Max in English," Maria winked mischievously, "See ya!" she left Liz at the door of her English class. "Fine, then! Just leave me here, all by myself!" Liz called after her in mock despair. She cautiously entered the classroom. Her eyes rested on Max. He was watching her, smiling shyly. Liz couldn't believe he actually had the nerve to smile at her. Though she had to admit, he was looking especially cute with that grin…she looked away from him and sat down. "Hi, Liz," Max whispered. Liz refused to answer; she looked straight ahead and pretended to concentrate on the blackboard. "Liz?" she didn't acknowledge him in any way. Instead, she took out her notebook and started doodling absent-mindedly on it. "Are you still mad at me?" Max asked worriedly. The first period bell rang. "Good morning, class," Mrs. Henley (let's pretend that's her name, shall we?) intoned, entering the room. Liz decided to try and pay attention. "Today I am going to pair you up with a partner to start working on our persuasive essays for…" Liz tuned out the rest of whatever Mrs. Henley said. She was too busy praying she wouldn't be paired with Max. And wishing his eyes would look at anything other than her. She would rather be Pam Troy's partner than Max's. It was too much to bear right now. "Parker, you're with Troy," Mrs. Henley announced. _Yes! _Liz thought happily. "No, wait- I'm sorry. Parker with Evans. Troy with Andrews…" Liz let her head hit the desk. Max was now grinning widely at her. Liz looked down at her notebook and silently groaned when she saw what she had 'absent-mindedly' doodled. All over the edges of the page she had written- MAX AND LIZ FOREVER in a colored gel-pen, surrounded with hearts. She turned the page quickly, so that Max wouldn't be able to see it and start to gloat. Well, he probably wouldn't gloat. He'd look at her with such love and devotion in his eyes, and she would start to melt and- _AAAAHH! Stop it, Liz! _"What are we doing?" Liz asked Max when they got out all the materials and Mrs. Henley passed out the worksheet. "I have no earthly idea," Max replied and Liz giggled. "Are you still mad at me?" he gave her a wide-eyed, innocent little puppy-dog look. Liz wanted to reach over and hug him tightly. He was so cute!"Of course I am…" his face adopted a sad puppy-dog look. "But not much."

"I shouldn't have done that, and I'm really, really, really sorry," Max apologized profusely. "I guess it's okay. The thing that made me mad is that you're kind of with Tess, so kissing me was kind of cheating on her," she told him. "Yeah, Michael mentioned that," he grumbled sarcastically. "So we can forget it ever happened. Be friends again," Liz smiled and Max nodded. She decided she had just said the stupidest thing in the world. She didn't want to forget it happened. She wanted it to happen again. She wanted Tess to completely disappear from Max's life. Too late for that now. "Yesterday, you were trying to tell me what happened Saturday, but I didn't want to listen. Now I do. What happened?"

Mr. Whitman banged on his son's door again, "Alex, I know you're not feeling well, but you could at least eat some food!"

"I'm not hungry! Go away!" came Alex's voice from behind the locked door. His father sighed deeply and went back to the kitchen, muttering, "I'll never understand that boy…" 

Alex got up from his chair and stood by the phone, his fingers were itching to call. He needed to know if there was any progress. He doubted there would be, but still. She could be in the middle of a class, so it might not be a good idea. He flipped through the book one more time, wishing there would be something he had missed before. There was still a piece missing, something that didn't quite fit. He couldn't understand how it had come about, how it was even possible. He laughed to himself, how stupid they all were to actually believe all that 'destiny' stuff. It was such a farce. If you looked at the pictures, it might seem that way, but the words translated themselves into something completely different. He hah had to recover from the shock of finding out who was truly holding the heir to the throne. At first he had thought he made a mistake, but there was no denying it. It didn't matter; Ava was already putting their plan into action. He'd just have to wait awhile until it came through.


	7. Dreams

Pile of lies

Category- Max and Liz, and Max/Tess (sort of)

Summary- Isabel hasweird 'dreams', everybody chats at lunch, Maria unknowingly discovers a plot, and Alex talks with Ava, 

Disclaimer- don't own it, don't sue, don't have anything you want

Rating- PG, PG-13…

A/N- Sometimes people might seem a bit out of character. That's just cuz I sometimes have a different picture of them in my mind (or how I'd like them to be once in a while) Sorry if you don't like it. Oh, yeah. Please review :D Thanks for the feedback! 

_Tess walked alone through the old alleyway, her hair flying behind her as the wind blew forcefully against her skin. She heard someone's footsteps from behind. Startled, she turned around, and found her face with Alex. "Oh, Alex! I thought it was someone else," he didn't answer, but grabbed her. She tried to scream, but his hand quickly covered her mouth. He dragged her through the alley, into his house. There, Ava was waiting impatiently, "Khivar, I really don't want to do this!" her voice was nothing like her normal self. It was poised and had a bit of an Australian accent. It sounded exactly like if Tess were speaking. "I got her. Where shall we put her for the time being?" Alex had completely ignored Ava's complaint. "I don't know! I don't want to do this!" Ava's voice rose. Tess's eyes widened, she feared she had an idea of what they were going to do. Why was Ava calling Alex 'Khivar'? It wasn't possible, was it? Alex glared at Ava, "You want to be with Zan, do you not?" Ava hesitated a little, not wanting to have to stand up to the almighty Khivar. Who knew what he would do to her. "He's not Zan, he's Max. Zan is dead," she flinched, remembering how Lonnie and Rath had cold-bloodedly killed him. She could have stopped it. Would she want to be with Max? Max wasn't Zan. Max would never be Zan. Besides, Max was in love with Liz. Liz had been so kind to her…why was she doing this to them? "Max and Zan are the same person. They were made from the same person; therefore they are the same person. It would be no different. This is the only way," Alex answered sternly, as if reading her thoughts. Tess tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but he held tight and kicked her. "Why would Max want to be with Tess when he's in love with that Liz girl?" Ava countered. It was better off to pretend she wasn't well acquainted with Liz. "That's just it. Zan is a weakling when it comes to her. He'll give up on Elizabeth yet, just remember to offer comfort." Alex smirked. Ava wanted to scream 'Its Max, not Zan!' but she decided against it. Instead, she calmly said, "You just want to kill him anyway. What's the point of all this?" _

_"I don't wish to kill him outright, Ava. I merely wish to weaken him, make him suffer, along with all the Royal Four. And we must kill the Heir, as well." Ava took a deep breath, "This is wrong." Alex narrowed his eyes in a cruel manner, "Ava, either help me with this, or I will kill you right now. It's your choice." Tess bit Alex's hand. He didn't react at all. Ava gave Tess a pitying look that said 'I'm sorry' and sighed, "Fine. I'll do it. We can put her in the closet in your room. It has a lock, and you can, of course, make it foolproof," she closed her eyes in concentration; slowly her features began to change. Her hair grew longer and lost its pink dye, her clothes were replaced with the exact same thing Tess was wearing, ECT. "Perfect. Now, off you go. I'll go place our new friend where she needs to be," Alex gave Ava/'Tess' an evil smile, and she left. (Using incredibly strong curse words under her breath) "Remember what you have to do!" he called after her. Then he turned to Tess, "I'm going to have some fun with you!"_

__Isabel woke up with a start, "Oh, my God."

I WEEK LATER (Wednesday at lunchtime)~ 

"…And Michael was being so sweet! I couldn't believe it. I mean, isn't this just the _cutest _thing you ever saw?" Maria bounced up and down, showing Liz and Alex the new teddy bear Michael had bought for her the day before. It was white and had a little pink heart on its stomach, bearing the words 'I love you'. "Wow! That doesn't seem like a very…Michael thing to do," Liz exclaimed, taking the bear in her arms and cuddling it, "you're soo cute!" 

"Why'd he give it to you in the first place?" Alex asked suspiciously as Liz tried to get him to hold the bear, "Get that thing away from me!" he covered his face with his hands. "For your information, it is not a thing!" Liz informed him, putting her hands on her hips. "That's the amazing thing," Maria explained, "He gave it to me for no reason at all!" she clapped her hands happily. (She was in a hyper mood) "Are you sure it was for no reason?" Liz raised an eyebrow. There _had _to be a reason. "Yes, I'm sure! Well…" Maria's demeanor slumped a little, "Monday night, I got mad at him because, as usual, he was being a jerk. I told him I would rather go out with Max, because Max is always sweet," she sighed unhappily, "It's not fair!" Liz put a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder, "Well, I'd rather be going out with Max, too. But we don't always get what we want in this life." Alex looked around the lunchroom, "Where is everybody? Max, Michael, Isabel, Tess, and Kyle still haven't gotten back from the lunch line!"

"I hope Tess doesn't get back any time soon," Maria grumbled. "Why is that?" Alex inquired curiously. "Oh, please!" Maria rolled her eyes so far back; you could only see the white part. Liz cringed, then turned to Alex, "Have you realized Maria and I never eat any more after Tess gets to the table?" she took a big bite of her pizza. "Well, yeah. I've wondered why," Alex shrugged, tapping his fingers on the table. "It's because we can't stand to eat while watching Tess hang all over poor Max," Maria explained, throwing her sandwich wrapper at Doug Shoun, who was sitting at the table next to them. "It's disgusting," Liz agreed, poking the teddy bear again. Just then, Max, Michael, and Isabel sat down at the table. "What are you guys talking about?" Isabel asked as she sat down next to Alex. "Hey, Isabel," he greeted her in a cool manner. "Hey," she flashed him a flirtatious smile. "We were just talking about how much we can't stand Tess," Maria made a face, "No offense, Max."

"None taken," Max smiled. "How can you stand to go out with her, Maxwell?" Michael grinned at him. "I don't even know exactly why I'm going out with her anymore," he confessed. Isabel and Maria laughed while Liz suppressed a smile. "That's not good brother, dear," Isabel patted him on the back. "You know what's weird?" Liz said thoughtfully, "I was starting to think Tess was pretty cool, the just a few weeks ago, she turned into Bitch-Queen out of nowhere." Michael straightened up, "Hey, your right. Since a while ago she's been acting kind of weird…" Everyone mulled over this for a few minutes in silence. Alex looked worried and kept cracking his knuckles. Finally, Tess and Kyle came up to join them. "Hey, guys!" Tess said cheerfully. "Hello, my fellow classmates," Kyle smiled serenely. Michael groaned, "Don't do that." Max was obviously uncomfortable, to everyone except Tess and Liz, as Tess sat down next to him. "Oh, Tess?" Maria leaned over. "Yes?" Tess was playing with Max's hair. Max wasn't liking it. (By this time, Liz and Maria had stopped eating, and Isabel was looking at her food in disgust.) "What is it with you and salt?" You've been pouring it al over your food for the past week!" Maria exclaimed. "That was blunt," Liz whispered to her. "I'm not sure," Tess answered, "I've been craving it since last Sunday morning." She looked over at Max pointedly. He went into a coughing fit, Michael laughed silently, Isabel's eyes became huge, and Kyle stabbed his food a few times. Liz excused herself hurriedly to go to the bathroom and Maria followed. Alex leaned back, smiling a self-satisfied smile that no one else noticed. "What's up with her?" Tess wondered out loud. She narrowed her eyes as Max looked after Liz, his face full of concern.

Maria ran into the bathroom after Liz, "Liz, babe, what's wrong?" she didn't get an answer. She checked to make sure no one was in the bathroom with them, and then locked the door, "There. Now that we have established complete privacy, you can tell me what's wrong." Liz shook her head, "I don't know. I couldn't stand watching Max and Tess, but then…" Maria groaned, "Oh, honey, I thought we were over this!" Liz gave her best friend a sharp look, "Maria, I wasn't finished yet!" Maria gave a little giggle, "Oops! Sorry! Okay, continue." Liz took a deep breath, "Last Sunday was the day after Max and Tess…anyway, and I just had a sudden thought. What if it's some sort of side effect?" Maria giggled harder, "Wait, are…are you trying to tell me…you think…so, like, you think alien sex equals…salt craving?" she was now laughing insanely. "Maria, it's not funny!" Liz argued. "Sorry again, it just that it's a little far-fetched, don't you think?" Maria looked at her disbelievingly. "I wasn't thinking that exactly…more like…Well, Max was drunk, and so they probably didn't use protection. I read somewhere that when-" Maria interrupted with a high squeal, "You think Tess could be _pregnant_?!" Liz sighed, "It's very possible…I hope that's not it, but it could be."

"Liz there's another possibility you haven't gone over," Maria told her. "What's that?" Liz asked hopefully. "See, it's possible that Tess could be…lying! She gets Max drunk, tells him they did stuff, and then pretends she's pregnant. Next, she'll just conveniently 'lose the baby'!" Maria declared triumphantly with an isn't-it-obvious look. "That's stupid. Why would she lie?" Liz furrowed her brows. "Lizzie, Lizzie, Lizzie…you are _so _naïve. Just like the girls in soap operas," Maria shook her head sadly and made a 'tsk, tsk' noise. "What?" Liz put her hands on her hips defensively. "She, just like everyone knows, that Max is still gaga over you-" Liz gave her and 'oh, please' look, but Maria ignored her, "So she thinks to her self with that puny little alien brain of hers, 'If I make Max think I'm pregnant, he won't leave me for that smart and beautiful and talented human,'" Maria made a fake simpering sound. "Maria…" Liz warned. "What? It would be the perfect plan for her!"

_Alex came into his house whistling, he was extremely happy. Isabel had obviously been flirting with him at lunch after Liz and Maria left, but he was mostly happy because Ava was finally going to complete step 4 in the plan tomorrow. She had better do it tomorrow. And Max was so gullible; he would fall for it hook, line, and sinker. The doorbell rang, and he went to open it. It was Tess. Or, at least, it looked like Tess. "Oh, do come in…Tess," he greeted her. "There's no one here, don't call me that!" she hissed angrily. "Touchy, touchy, touchy. All right. Ava, dear, you need to loosen up a little," he smiled, "What did you come here for? You aren't as the humans say, 'chickening out', are you?" his face turned menacing. "No, I am by no means chickening out!" Ava flared up at him. "Easy, honey, easy. What do you want then?"_

_"First, I want to know how Tess is doing." Alex laughed coldly, "Oh, she's alive. Barely, but alive. Don't worry." Ava glared at him with hatred, "Spare me the sarcasm. Now exactly how will I pass off this pregnancy thing?" he pressed his lips together tightly and exhaled, "You figure it out. You probably won't even have to reach that point anyway. The plan will be completed by then." Ava sighed, "This is all too much lying and deceit. I hate this!" Alex shrugged his shoulders dismissively, "The real problem will be getting rid of Elizabeth, the wonderful princess."_

_"Why does anything have to happen to her?!" Ava cried in a childish voice. "Have I not taught you anything? She's the key!"_

_ _


	8. Fake It

Pile of lies

Pile of lies

Category- Max and Liz, and just everyone

Summary- Tess tells Max something important, another Max/Liz scene, Isabel tells Liz and Maria about her dreams and they decide to investigate.

Rating- PG, PG-13

A/N- Sorry I took a while, I was grounded. Thanx sooo much for all the positive feedback! I feel loved! Please review even if you think it sucks. J : D Oh, and why did FFN just do this to my fic?

THURSDAY AFTERNOON-

Max was stretched out on his bed, listening to _Counting Crows- _Colorblind when Isabel waltzed into his room. (Without knocking!) "Man! There's always something wrong with you, isn't there?" she sat down on the bed next to her brother, "What is it this time?"

"What do you mean, Iz? There's absolutely nothing wrong with me. I'm as happy as a clam," Max said sarcastically as he started singing along with the words. Isabel covered her ears, "Ugh. Don't sing. And don't lie to me. What's wrong?" Max rolled his eyes, "Gee, I should speak to you more often. You do wonders for my self-esteem. There's nothing wrong."

"There _is _something wrong, Max. You're listening to the Counting Crows, you only do that when you're upset," Isabel blew on her _Jet-Dry _fingernails. "I was just thinking about…" Max dropped the sentence off; Isabel already knew what he was thinking about. "I know, you were thinking about…hmm…could it be, Liz?" Isabel pondered as she changed her nails to green. "Aren't I always thinking about Liz?" Max muttered. "You're too easy to guess," Isabel agreed.

"Honey! Someone's here to see you!" Mrs. Evans called from downstairs. "Which honey?" Max asked Isabel. "Beats me!"

"Max!" their mother called again. "That would be me," Max pointed to himself and headed to the staircase. Waiting for him, seated on the sofa in the living room was Tess. "Oh…hi, Tess," Max tried not to sound disappointed. He stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Hi, Max," she looked flushed and frantic. "Well, I'll leave you two alone then…" Diane Evans left through the kitchen door, wondering what had become of that cute Liz Parker. She had liked her better anyway. "Max, this really important! I have to tell-" Tess started once Mrs. Evans left, but Max interrupted her, "Tess, before you say anything, I have to tell you something. I'm really sorry, but I can't be with you. I love Liz."

Tess was nodding ecstatically on the inside, _Now I can just tell him the truth! _But she realized if she didn't go through with the plan then Khivar would probably kill her, or Liz. She had already made everything perfect so that Liz wouldn't die, but if she screwed up, Khivar would find out about everything. There would always be other opportunities. "No, Max! This is really important! It's so horrible…" she stifled a cry. "What is it?" Max asked worriedly. 

"Oh, Max, I'm pregnant!"

"I know, that's just the best, Maria!" Liz gave a phony giggle as she talked to her best friend on the phone. Maria was giving her a summary of the movie she and Michael had seen in excruciating detail, the only problem was there had been more making out than movie watching, so Liz had to feign an interest in Maria's sex life. "Yep," Liz grinned, trying to stifle her laughter. There was a tap on her window, "Oh, Maria, I'm sorry. I've gotta go!" she said into the phone. _Thank God, whoever you are! _"That's all right, babe. Catch you later, then. Bye!" Maria hung up. Liz walked over to the window and saw Max outside, shivering from the cold. She slowly opened up the window, "Max!" she greeted him with a big smile before she realized Max had a sad and forlorn look on his face. "Oh, Max, what happened? Are you okay?" she gave him a big hug when he was on his feet. As she tried to let go she found that she couldn't. Max held on to her for a few extra moments, and then released her. "What's wrong?" Liz asked him again. "…Tess is pregnant," he sat down on her bed. "Oh, my God…Max…" she seated herself next to him and put her arms around him comfortingly. "I don't know how the hell this happened! I didn't want this to happen!" he exclaimed angrily. "Max, it's okay. It's going to be okay. Don't worry," Liz massaged his back in a comforting manner. "That's exactly what I told Tess," he whispered pitifully, "but it's not going to be okay. It's never going to be okay. Ever," he laid his head down on Liz's shoulder and started rocking back and forth like a little ten year-old boy. "Max…" Liz sighed, "We're all here for you and Tess. It's really going to be okay," she kissed the top of his head lightly. "Why did I let her get me drunk?" Max asked. (Himself more than her) "Um, Max…about the drunk thing…maybe Tess isn't really pregnant…" she told him hesitantly. "What are you talking about?" Max sat up again. "Well…she- she could be pretending…" Liz let it go. "Tess would never do that!" he answered emotionally, getting off the bed. "I don't know, Max. I mean, it's only been a week since you…it should take longer than that for her to realize it…shouldn't it?" the flash in Max's eyes made her want to curse herself for even thinking it. 

"You don't even know what alien pregnancies are like! You don't know anything!" Max yelled suddenly. Liz backed away a little, "Max…I'm sorry…I didn't mean anything. I swear. It was a stupid suggestion." Tears welled up in her eyes that were threatening to spill. Max never talked to her like that. Well, he did once, when they were in Arizona, but even then he hadn't been that harsh. Had he really forgotten how he used to feel about her? 

Max's face softened and he came over to Liz's side again, "Liz, no, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I'm just…upset. I can't believe this is happening." Liz hugged him again, "I know how you feel, and actually, Maria was the one that suggested that Tess was faking it." Max looked at her frantically, "Maria? How does she know?" Liz laughed, "It's kind of ironic. Maria and I were just talking yesterday about how Tess could be pregnant, and Maria gave me this whole little speech about what was going to happen. And now it's actually happening."

THE NEXT MORNING-

Liz told Maria all about Tess being pregnant, and Max's late night visit when school started. "Oh, poor Max!" Maria exclaimed once Liz had finished telling her the story. "I know, it's horrible!" Liz agreed. "I'm telling you right now, Tess is definitely lying!" Maria declared loudly. A few people walking ahead of her turned to stare. "What are you looking at?" Maria asked them, "Tess Harding is a bitch and a whore. Nothing new, move on with your lives!" Liz closed her eyes, trying to appear frustrated, "Maria! Don't do that!" she whispered. "Sorry. I'm in a bitchy mood today. Michael didn't even look at me this morning."

Isabel came running up behind the two girls, "Hey, guys!" she called, "Wait up!" 

"Isabel!" Liz turned around, as did Maria. "I suppose you two already know," Isabel said breathlessly. Maria nodded, " Yeah, we heard."

"Well, I think there's something going on- something weird about it," Isabel confided. "Don't we all?" Maria laughed. "I'm serious," Isabel motioned to the eraser room, "Let's go in there, more privacy." Maria looked over at Liz, "See, Liz? She _does _want me!" Liz rolled her eyes, 'Maria, just because Michael doesn't look at you for one morning, doesn't mean you have to go and become a lesbian. Really." Isabel opened the door, ushered Liz and Maria inside, and then locked the door behind them with her powers. "OK. This way no one can get in. Last week, I had some dreams."

"Most of us did, what's your point?" Maria muttered sarcastically. "Maria!" Liz cried exasperatedly, "You're starting to act just like Michael!" Maria gasped, "Oh, my God! I am! I'm sorry. I have to stop."

"Anyway," Isabel continued, "In the first dream, Alex kidnapped Tess and Ava was there. She kept calling him Khivar. They were making a plan to…" Isabel revealed her whole dream to them. "Whoa. That's slightly…freaky," Maria blinked rapidly. "Yeah…do you think it could have been real?" Liz asked. "The thing is, it felt _completely _real. Like a memory, except I hadn't been there. Almost like when Laurie dream walked me."

"Maybe Tess really is locked in the bottom of Alex's closet and is sending out a plea for help," Maria seemed to relish the idea. "I also had a dream Wednesday night. Alex was telling Ava how to pretend she's pregnant," Isabel told them. "Hmm…I think we should check it out," Maria announced. "How?" Liz asked. "One of us will have to go to Alex's house, and find a way to get into his room," Maria answered confidently. "That's a great idea!" Isabel nodded enthusiastically, "but how will we do that?" Liz smiled mischievously, "I have a plan…"

"It's not fair!" Maria complained, "I never get to do anything, I'm always on the outside!" she and Liz were standing outside Alex's house, and Liz was about to ring the doorbell, "You're our back-up, Maria. Just take the radio transmission thingy," Liz handed her a small black radio. "Oh, fun!" Maria disappeared around the back as Liz rang the doorbell. Alex answered, "Hey, Parker!" Liz smiled, "Ready to start, Alex?" he opened the door wider to let her in, "Ready as I'll ever be. Come on in, I have everything set up in the den."

"The den? Why not the bedroom?" Liz inquired nonchalantly. Alex smiled a bit too widely, "Well, you see, the bedroom's- the bedroom's a little…messy." She nodded, _Is it just me or does Alex seem a wee bit nervous? _"Well, let's get started!" Alex continued, "Mrs. Ferret-face wants us to make a map of the Czech Republic. Liz laughed, "I know, Alex. I was there when she assigned the project." They worked on the map for about 15 minutes when Liz had to go to the bathroom. "Okay," Alex replied, "Just don't go into my room."

"I won't." Liz ran up to Alex's bedroom and quietly opened the door. When she got in, she locked it. Then, she turned on the radio transmission thingy.

"Maria!"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing yet. I'm his room. Where's Isabel?"

"Outside the window, as planned."

"Good," Liz opened the window, looking around for Isabel. "I'm over here!" Isabel whispered. Liz let her in, then closed the door again. She went back to the transmission thingy.

"Maria?"

"Still here."

"I've got Isabel. We're going to open the closet."

"Oh, the horror."

Isabel went over to the closet and tried to open it, "It's stuck!" she complained. "Can't you use your powers?" Liz asked. "Oh. Duh!" Isabel hit herself on the head for being so stupid. She heard muffled noises coming from the closet, "Someone's inside!" she whispered excitedly. "Liz, are you done yet?" Alex called from downstairs. "Uh- not yet! Almost!" Liz called back, "hurry up!"

"I'm hurrying, I'm hurrying!" Isabel unlatched the lock, but the door wouldn't budge. Liz turned on the radio. 

"Maria, we may need you soon."

"Oh, goody!"

"That's not a good thing."

"Liz, it can't take that long to go to the bathroom!" Alex yelled. His voice sounded way too near. The closet door opened. Isabel let out an involuntary scream, "Oh, my God!"


	9. Uh-Oh

PILE OF LIES

PILE OF LIES

Category- Max and Liz and a teeny bit of Maria/Michael

Summary- Liz and Isabel find someone, Alex discovers Liz was in his room, Maria and Isabel bond, Alex is weird, Isabel sneaks into his house again, and…okay, I suck at these.

Disclaimer- don't own it, don't sue, don't have anything you want

Rating- PG, PG-13

A/N- Please review, I like feed-back! And please tell me if u think it sux, (as long as you tell me what's wrong) J :D

"What the hell was that?!" Alex's voice seemed even nearer than before.

"Oh, my God," Isabel lowered her voice.

"What is it, Isabel?" Liz whispered, hoping Alex hadn't come upstairs.

"Look!" Isabel pointed to inside the closet. At the bottom, covered with boxers and shirts, was Tess, bundled up with ropes, with cuts all over her. She was unconscious at the moment.

"What was that scream?" Alex asked again.

"Um- I just looked in the mirror," Liz giggled nervously, "I'm coming out now!" she turned to Isabel, "Get her out of here! Now!"

"Right," Isabel nodded.

Liz left the room and went back down into the den and cautiously sat down next to Alex.

"That took you a while. Only about 15 minutes," he muttered good-naturedly.

"I noticed a zit and was trying to cover it up," Liz smiled a tiny smile, hoping it would convince him. Girls did stuff like that all the time.

"Come off it, Liz!"

Liz stiffened, _Oh, my God! Does he know?_

"You never get zits!" Alex laughed heartily, and Liz joined him.

"Thanks, but that's not true," she answered, her fears washing away. They worked quietly for thirty more minutes until Liz said she needed to leave. _Hopefully Maria and Isabel are still out side waiting for me._

"All right. Leave me," Alex said agreeably. Then his eyes suddenly sparked and turned darker, "but first, I want to know why you were in my room."

Maria was jumping up and down outside Alex's house, "Liz needs to get her butt out here!"

Isabel slapped the side of Tess's face softly, hoping to wake her up, "I hope Tess will be okay."

Maria walked over to Isabel and Tess, "I'm actually sorry I called her a bitch now. If Tess was in Alex's closet the whole time, then who was pretending to be Tess?" she asked out loud.

Isabel stood up calmly, "Maria, tell me you are not that dense. Take a wild guess."

"Um…Ava…" Maria obliged in guessing. "Ding, ding, ding! Give the girl a prize! Of course it's Ava, that's what my dream said, too," Isabel smiled dryly, "I can't believe we trusted her."

"Well, maybe she was scared," Maria defended her.

"So? That's still no reason to betray our trust."

"Liz has been in there for a long time…" Maria glanced at her watch.

"She could be in trouble," Isabel looked towards the door nervously, as if expecting to hear terrified screams emanating from it.

"Wouldn't she have told us through the radio?" Maria asked stubbornly.

"Hello? If she were in trouble, she wouldn't even be able to _use _the damn radio!" Isabel argued.

"This was such a stupid idea!" Maria cried, "We should have told the guys."

"I wasn't in your room," Liz lied, her palms starting to sweat. She was such a bad liar.

"I know you were. What were you doing in there?" Alex stepped towards her menacingly, but his new deep voice was almost completely void of emotion.

"How would you know if I was in your room?" Liz asked, licking her upper lip in an attempt to calm herself. It wasn't working.

"So you admit it," he smiled, a cold smile, "I went up to the bathroom, and the door was open. The bedroom, on the other hand, was closed."

"So, what's the point? What is so bad about being in your room, Alex?" Liz tried not to sound the least bit scared, but she was shaking uncontrollably inside.

"I specifically told you not to go up there, _Elizabeth_," he emphasized the 'Elizabeth'.

Liz felt her throat go dry, "You never call me Elizabeth," it came out almost like a raspy whisper.

Alex looked directly at her, his gaze seemingly penetrating through her, "but that's your real name. _Elizabeth._ Don't you remember?"

"No, it's not. My parents called me Liz from the beginning. You know that." She answered defiantly. Why was he calling her that? What was going on? Was Alex really Khivar? She desperately wished she could use the radio now.

"I'm not talking about this life, Liz, dear," Alex corrected her.

"You're not Alex," Liz said flatly, "You're Khivar." She felt like laughing. _No duh, Liz. Don't you feel like Sherlock Holmes now?_

Khivar laughed, "That's right. I am."

Liz could feel the little beads of sweat dripping off her forehead, "What do you want with us? With me? What did you do to Tess?" Liz asked, trying frantically to keep her voice from growing hysterical.

"My, my, my. Aren't we full of questions today. Don't worry, my pretty one. They will all be answered in good time. Meanwhile, you better tell your little king Max that if he's not careful, he's going to lose you," Khivar laughed again at Liz's expression, "Oops! I forgot, you won't be able to tell him. Because you'll be _dead!_"

Maria rapidly paced back and forth, biting her nails.

"Will you please quit that?!" Isabel clenched her teeth.

"I'm sorry, I'm just so nervous!" she gave a few little jumps, "We so have to go in there!"

Isabel shook her head, "Not yet. We can't just leave Tess here all alone."

Maria fumbled for her cell phone.

"What are you doing with that?" Isabel asked.

"I'm going to call Max and Michael!"

Isabel grabbed the phone away from her, "Are you insane? They'll kill us for doing this without their permission!" she took a deep breath. 

"I don't care!" Maria grabbed the phone back, "Liz could be in trouble!" she started dialing, but Isabel stopped her.

"We don't know that she's in trouble!"

Tess's eyes fluttered open, "What happened? What day is it?" she wondered groggily. 

Maria turned to her impatiently, "Tess, should we call Max and Michael or not call Max and Michael? Choose wisely."

Tess blinked, "Uh…call Max and Michael?"

Maria smiled proudly, "There, see?" then grabbed the phone back (yet again) and dialed the number.

"Why am I of any importance to you?" Liz backed away fearfully from Khivar, "Is it because I know too much or something?" she asked, remembering something one of the Skins had said in Arizona. 

Khivar made Alex snort, "Because you know too much? Why would I care about you knowing too much? No, that's not any where _near _it. If anything, you know too little."

_Maria! Isabel! Get in here! _Liz pleaded in her mind. "Then what do you want with me?" 

Khivar stepped towards her, reached out his (Alex's) hand, and started caressing her cheek, "You're very sexy, you know that?"

Liz brushed his (Alex's) hand away forcefully, "And you're disgusting, you know that?" she spat.

Khivar looked amused, "Ooh. Feisty. Am I disgusting then? I suppose that's why all the girls in Antar fall at my feet."

"They must have all been pretty stupid then," she shot back. 

"Maybe. All of them were head over heels in love with me. Even Vilandra, the ice princess. All, except for you. I want to know why that was," he crossed his (Alex's) arms.

Liz narrowed her eyes, "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, that's right. I keep forgetting. Silly me. You don't remember anything."

Max jumped as soon as he heard the phone ring. He had been sitting motionless in the living room, staring at the TV, waiting for the football game to start. He hadn't even known why he was going to watch it. He hated football. He picked the phone up on the third ring, "Hello?"

"Max!" Maria's frightened voice came from the other end of the line. 

"Maria? What's wrong?" 

"Um- nothing! Everything's peachy crème! Is Michael there, too?" her voice was now hyper-cheerful.

_Peachy crème?! Where the heck did she learn that? _"Well, yeah…he's getting a drink. We're about to watch the game."

"Oh, okay. That's- that's really interesting."

"What's wrong, Maria?"

"We're in trouble!" now her voice was high and squeaky.

"Who? Where?"

"Um…Isabel can explain!"

"Isabel?"

Michael came up and sat down next to Max, "Has it started yet?" he asked casually. "Not yet. Shhh…" Max put a finger to his lips.

"Oh, hi, Max!" Isabel's voice was _super_ phony.

"Tell me what the hell's going on, Iz!"

"Okay-Tess wasn't-Tess-She was Ava-She's not pregnant-And Khivar has L-" her sentences ran themselves together so even she had no idea what she was saying.

"What?! I can't understand a single word you're saying."

"I'll explain everything later. All you need to know is we found Tess locked in Alex's closet, Alex is Khivar, and Liz is trapped inside the house with him!" 

"We'll be right there!"

"Thank God!" Isabel sighed and hung up.

Max got up from his chair, and started to grab Michael's arm.

"I don't want to miss the game," Michael warned.

"Well, you're going to have to. Liz is in trouble and we have to get to Alex's house. Fast." Max took his jacket off the hanger, grabbed his car keys, and left out the front door. Michael waited exactly 1 minute before grudgingly turning off the TV and following him.

"They're coming!" Isabel fanned herself in a nervous manner. 

Maria helped Tess sit up, "See? I told you they wouldn't be mad."

Isabel rolled her eyes, "Sure. Just wait until this is all over. They'll be at our throats. 'How could you do this without us? We're a team!'" she mimicked Michael's voice, " And Max will be like, 'You could have put Liz in a lot of danger! You have to think before you act! Don't do anything without me okay-ing it!'"

Maria laughed, "He's not that bad!" then her expression turned serious, "What if we_ did _put Liz in a lot of danger? What if Max won't say that because we'll be too busy mourning over Liz's death?! Oh, dear Lord!" 

"Relax, Maria," Isabel laughed, "Liz is just fine. You'll see."

Tess blinked rapidly, "What's going on, guys?"

Isabel ignored the question, "Tess, how did you get into Alex's closet?"

Tess seemed to actually have recognition of the question, "I'm not sure. The last thing I remember is Ava talking to Alex. She kept calling Khivar. I guess he's possessed."

"How _long _were you in Alex's closet?" Maria asked her.

"Oh, it must have been at least…five weeks," Tess shrugged weakly.

Isabel gasped, "That was even before the prom! Max's memories from the past life must have been fake!"

"Ava could have been implanting them in his brain!" Maria offered helpfully.

Isabel nodded, "But what could have been the point of all this?"

"Leave me alone!" Liz cried, struggling to get out of Khivar's grasp. _Why don't they come?! They have to have heard me by now! _She thought desperately.

"I don't think so, Elizabeth. There's a special sound barrier around the house. No one can hear you scream. No one. Except, maybe…but he's not here, is he?" he whispered cruelly in her ear. 

_How did he know…? _

"How did I know? Well, if you haven't figured it out by know, I can read your thoughts."

Liz would have jumped, but at the moment she couldn't move, "Aren't you going to kill me yet?" she looked up at him with a hateful glance.

"Kill you? Why would I want to kill you? Far from that, I assure you. Besides, I could get a lot from the High-and-Mighty in exchange for you," he smiled thoughtfully.

"That was you! That wasn't Alex joking, that was you!"

"Took you that long? I thought you were smarter than that," he twirled Liz's hair around with his (have we gotten by now that their Alex's?) fingers.

"Let go of me, you son of a bitch!"

"I'm so glad you're here, guys!" Maria cried out breathlessly to Max and Michael, "I can't hear anything coming from inside. Something could be really wrong…" she realized Max wasn't listening to her. He was staring intently at the door with an almost grief-stricken look on his face. 

"Max, is something wrong?" Tess asked gently. 

"Liz is in trouble," he whispered, "Come on, we need to get inside!"

Michael raised an eyebrow, but he, Isabel, Maria, and Tess wordlessly followed him. Max started jingling the doorknob, but quickly receded. "The door's locked," he said to everyone.

"Well, no duh, Max. Most people lock their doors," Isabel replied impatiently.

Max tried using his powers, but Michael came up behind him.

"Maxwell, you don't need to use your powers."

"We can go in through the back. It would be better that way, less conspicuous," Tess suggested. 

Max nodded, "Maria- you and Tess stay out here."

Maria scowled deeply, "But, why?"

"Because Tess is weak, She needs someone to stay out here with her. You wouldn't be much help to us anyway." Michael answered her.

Maria scowled even deeper, "Thanks a lot."

Max and Isabel left around back. Michael stayed planted where he was a few seconds longer. Then, before leaving, he went over and gave Maria a light kiss. Maria's cheeks reddened, and she kissed him back.

"Awww…how cute!" Tess giggled.

Isabel quietly slipped into the house through the back door. She headed towards the living room. 

"What are you doing?" Michael whispered.

"I'm the most likely to visit Alex, so I should go," Isabel answered firmly.

"But, Isabel, it's way too dangerous," Michael grabbed her wrist protectively.

"No, she's right Michael. Khivar might find it a little strange if you or I go visit Alex. He won't suspect much if Isabel does." Max told him.

"Fine," Michael agreed sulkily.

"Okay- you and Max go upstairs or something," Isabel pointed upwards.

Max and Michael nodded, and Isabel continued walking into the living room. She could hear Liz's voice coming from there. Liz seemed too calm. Way too calm. Khivar was arguing with her, and laughing. Isabel swallowed hard. Khivar sounded so…evil. Not at all like sweet Alex. Why did he choose Alex to possess? Did it have something to do with getting to her? Then why would he want anything with Liz? She didn't understand how she could have possibly fallen for him in another life. She couldn't hear Liz anymore. "Hi, Alex!" she called out, hiding behind the wall. 

"…Isabel? What-what are you doing here?" his voice sounded like Alex again, slightly nervous at the prospect of seeing Isabel. She was almost fooled into thinking it was really him. "Uh- I just wanted to drop by and see you," she smiled cheerily as she entered the room, hoping she looked friendly and warm. Khivar was standing over Liz, who was lying on the couch. 

_Oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God! _"Oh!" Isabel cried, "What happened?! Is Liz okay?" she ran over to Liz worriedly. 

"Oh, no, she just…she just fainted. I'm not sure what's wrong. She'll probably come to soon," Khivar (sounding like Alex) explained.

_Yeah, right. _Isabel thought angrily, _What the hell did you do to her, Khivar? _

"So you already know? I thought you might," Khivar's voice returned to normal.

Isabel lifted her gaze from Liz up to him, and her features hardened. "What the hell did you do to Liz? What do you want?"

Khivar smirked, and held out his hand, "I just want you…dead."


End file.
